I had plans today to refocus, and write on a more consistent basis going forward.

Those Plans, Sadly, Walked Away From Me.

I wish I could blame my lack of a full writing effort today directly on a Metal Gear, as they would make my excuse way cooler. I did get distracted by a Metal Gear Solid game (Peace Walker), so in a sense, twas the beauty that distracted the beast. My reexamination of Peace Walker as a game has been spurned on by the recent news of Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima leaving Konami, and like most of the gaming community, the news has left me in shock and awe.

Kojima? KOJIMA?! KOJIMAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know Hideo Kojima has wanted to get away from the MGS series for awhile now (with some quotes placing his want to leave the series for good since way back in the MGS 2 days), but I’m not sure this is how he envisioned stepping away. Gamers too have wanted Kojima to quit working on the MGS series, some fans starting an internet meme stating “Hideo Kojima doesn’t have to work on Metal Gear games any more”, to see the director work on other fan favorites, like Zone of the Enders or an original IP, but now that the time has come, it all seems too soon.

Even Though In Reality, It’s Been A Hell Of A Long Time

Digressing a bit back to my replay of Peace Walker, the game ties into Kojima leaving, as the MGS series and I have been kind of distant for awhile. Since MGS 4, and the subsequent passing of Solid Snake, I had resolved myself as content, leaving behind a rich background of stealth and Snakes in my wake. While I still loved the idea of the series, both Peace Walker and Ground Zeroes, felt like a marked departure for the series, feeling different in some way. Different enough so that after playing both games, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of them, even speaking out more critically on the experiences after some pondering time, in ways I had never done prior to any games before them.

I’m 70% Serious

Now that I know Kojima is leaving, and Phantom Pain is very likely to be his last, I almost feel…divided as a fan, perhaps even confused, as to how the series and I drifted apart from each other in recent years. I thought to myself: “Do I really want to skip out on Phantom Pain? Divide myself from the last Kojima driven MGS experience?” The line of thought sounded wrong to me, and I thought, maybe, there was a way to understand why my alienation from the series had occurred. Whether it was due to my developing and differing interests in games, the series going into another direction, or perhaps the business powers that be within Konami that had subtly altered the experience without me realizing it, I wanted to give both Peace Walker and Ground Zeroes another chance.

In hopes to understand why I didn’t “feel” Phantom Pain, for better or worse.

Just In Case The Sun Was Setting On Kojima’s Metal Gear For Good

I realized I wanted to be there when night broke, and not be left curious as to what it felt like when the last lights had finally faded into nothingness.